Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, and also Eric Roberts make for an action packed film with little substance. Even more stars show up in cameos or small roles including Governor Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, which makes it even more nostalgic.
My problem with the film is that nearly every actor, except Statham, looks tired and worn out through the whole film. There’s no ‘connection’ with any character, except perhaps Statham. And while the action shots are pretty good, the fight scenes are generally composed of fast cuts, swirling camera action, and crazy acrobatics.
The main story is about a bunch of mercenaries, who have worked as a team, take on a mission to take out a general on an island state. While doing recon, they discover the mission is much more complex. Eric Roberts pulls off being a bad guy pretty well, but there doesn’t seem to be any motivation for him to be that way.
I’ve seen there is an Expendables 2 in production, the first obviously made enough to do a second story.
Director and co-writer, Stallone, does create visually interesting action scenes, and getting the old action stars together is definitely cool, but, hopefully, Expendables 2 has more substance.
If you like a lot of action, guns, knives, and gore, you’ll enjoy this movie. If not…pass.
Action Movie Rating: 6 out of 10
Film Rating: 3 out of 10
Enjoyed this review, had some similar feelings myself. You mentioned Eric Roberts, & I just heard about a new independent film he stars in that is coming out next month – thought I’d pass along. Deadline tells the true story of a young journalist who attempts to take on an OLD unsolved murder case in a small rural southern town despite warnings from his publisher. If the film is anything like the trailer at deadlinefilm.com, it should be great. I’m anxious to see it & thought you may enjoy it as well. Worth checking out! Thanks again for your review!